FTC unfair-practice cases against platforms contracting with children without parental consent
Mandate says targeting children for harmful contracts is an unfair trade practice; FTC should examine kids’ advertising/contracting (perhaps requiring written parental consent) and institute UTP proceedings against entities contracting with children without parental consent, beyond COPPA’s under-13/actual-knowledge limits.
Mandate
Mandate Ch. 30 (FTC) — Protecting Children Online: targeting children to create potentially harmful contracts or making parents responsible is an unfair trade practice; FTC should examine platforms’ advertising and contract-making with children as a deceptive or unfair trade practice, perhaps requiring written parental consent; FTC can and should institute unfair trade practices proceedings against entities that enter into contracts with children without parental consent; COPPA fails because it only protects under 13 and uses actual-knowledge rather than constructive-knowledge standards.
Undo plan
1) Prefer congressional COPPA update (age coverage, constructive knowledge) over open-ended UTP expansion.
2) Design parental-consent regimes that minimize biometric/age-data collection risks.
3) Focus enforcement on deceptive kids’ ads and dark patterns with clear injury theories.
4) Respect noted conservative dissent favoring education over regulation where evidence is contested.
5) Verify: COPPA rulemakings; parental-consent case settlements; privacy side effects.